THE chairman of Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC) has branded one of his committee colleagues a “bully and control freak” as a row over the management of the five-star racecourse descended into a war of words.

Councillor John Caldwell launched his attack on Lothians Racing Syndicate chairman John Prideaux after it was revealed that the racecourse had been stripped of a prestigious Investors In People (IIP) award.

A report by IIP described the racing committee, which manages the course, as “dysfunctional” and said Mr Caldwell, as its “managing chair”, had “lost the respect of staff”.

MJRC member Mr Prideaux called for Mr Caldwell to resign as chairman following the findings of the report, which were reported in last week’s Courier.

But in a blistering response, Mr Caldwell accused Mr Prideaux of using the IIP report to try and force him out in retaliation for attempts to oust him from the committee.

Mr Caldwell said: “John Prideaux was asked to resign in December and I suspect this is his way of retaliation by using the IIP report, which is still to be challenged.” And he alleged: “He is a bully and control freak and does not like it when people don’t agree with his opinions, especially when he comes across someone who won’t be bullied.” Former RAF Group Captain Mr Prideaux, who has managed horses for decades, dismissed Mr Caldwell’s comments as “petty”, saying: “Anyone who has had dealings with me during my 20 years of being involved at Musselburgh Racecourse will treat Mr Caldwell’s slanderous allegations of bullying with the contempt they deserve.” The racing committee is made up of seven members – four councillors and three members of Lothians Racing Syndicate.

It was LRS Ltd that ran the racecourse until East Lothian Council stepped in in the early 1990s and set up the joint committee to manage it.

Lothians Racing Syndicate is now a dormant limited company which lists its sole purpose as to ensure that racing takes place at Muselburgh in perpetuity.

It has eight directors who all have a background in horseracing. Mr Prideaux is a former racehorse owner who has stewarded at Musselburgh and other courses for more than 20 years.

However, relations between the councillors and LRS members have been strained.

Last year, a member of the syndicate accused three of the councillors – Mr Caldwell, Andrew Forrest, and John McNeil – of breaching the councillors’ code of conduct in their dealings with the racecourse.

The allegations were thrown out by the Public Standards Commissioner and it is understood that, following that decision, Mr Prideaux was asked to resign from the committee.

Following the IIP decision to take away the five-star racecourse’s standard, Mr Prideaux accused Mr Caldwell of treating staff at the course with “utter disdain”.

He called on East Lothian Council to step in and remove Mr Caldwell as chairman of the committee.

Mr Prideaux said: “The award-winning, conscientious and extremely able racecourse staff, under the leadership of general manager Bill Farnsworth, have made Musselburgh the only five-star visitor attraction racecourse in Scotland, yet have been treated with utter disdain by Councillor Caldwell.” And he said Mr Caldwell’s attack on him displayed his lack of leadership qualities, adding: “Serious questions have to be asked as to why East Lothian Council’s leadership continue to support Councillor Caldwell in his role as chairman of MJRC when his performance has been judged by independent observers to be wholly inadequate.” Over the weekend, the council’s SNP Group opposition also called for the resignation of all councillors on the racing committee and a cross-party representation to be appointed.

Councillor Stuart Currie, SNP Group leader and a Musselburgh ward councillor, said: “The fact that no one is prepared to take responsibility is just unacceptable.

“The appointments to this committee must now be cross party to include the opposition.” However, Councillor Willie Innes, council leader, said the SNP calls were “unbelievable”, pointing out that the SNP Group proposed selling the racecourse in their own budget last month.

Mr Innes said: “Our administration, on the other hand, is fully supportive of the racecourse, which continues to be a success.

“The administration is also supportive of Councillor Caldwell in his role as chairman of the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee as he works with all his colleagues on the committee to make improvements to the racecourse and its operations.” East Lothian Council said that it had arranged a debrief meeting with IIP, which would be held at the next meeting of the racing committee.